This blog continues the discussion that we began with Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009).The latest book in this series is Defying the Odds: the 2016 Elections and American Politics.

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New book about the 2016 election.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Update on Crossroads Ad Buy

New Mexico is a race that’s looked like more of a reach for Republicans: the Democratic nominee, Martin Heinrich, has held a lead over former Rep. Heather Wilson (a former Crossroads board member, by the way) in public polling. The fact that outside groups are investing there is a sign that the race isn’t a foregone conclusion.

Indiana is on the other side of the spectrum: a campaign in which Republicans have been favored, but where Sen. Dick Lugar’s defeat in the GOP primary has raised the prospect of a competitive general election. And Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly, the challenger for the seat, rushed to paint the Crossroads ads as a sign Republicans are nervous....

The ad buys show Crossroads testing the limits of the Senate map on both sides — offense and defense. That’s one of the luxuries of virtually unrestricted campaign spending: you don’t have to be as cautious about cutting checks or practice aggressive triage early in the election cycle.

Crossroads GPS is spending $866,000 combined to blame Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) on the rising national debt and rip them for backing Democrats' health insurance reform law and the stimulus package. In New Mexico, American Crossroads introduces former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) to voters with a positive bio spot that has approximately $250,000 behind it. Wilson won her primary on

The ad buys suggest that the behemoth Republican-affiliated group sees both New Mexico and Indiana as potentially competitive races — it's their first ad buys in either state. Most observers see Wilson as a slight underdog, but Republicans are high on her candidacy. Indiana became a state in play when Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) beat incumbent Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.).